7 Knack Apps for SMB Owners

As a small or medium-sized business leader, you constantly juggle a wide range of responsibilities and stay on the lookout for ways to optimize your operations, improve efficiency and save time. That often means looking for specialized apps for SMB owners. It’s tempting to look for best in class point solutions for every operational challenge you encounter. The trouble is, it’s almost impossible for small business owners to get a return on investment because each point solution is a data silo and can’t give you the benefits you need.

Even small businesses can fall victim to the growing problem of SaaS sprawl. But look no further, with Knack’s no-code platform you can streamline core business functions with secure, easy-to-use apps and online databases. Build many of the most critical day-to-day operational workflows you need within a single platform, instead of struggling to manage multiple tools that each require procurement, different pricing and license fees, training and, ultimately, integration.  

Using Knack’s intuitive visual builder tools and app templates, operational leaders inside SMB’s can design and build apps tailored to meet specific business and operational requirements. Simplify your workflows, scale your business and enhance collaboration with powerful capabilities when and where you need them most. It all comes with a cost-effective pricing model that isn’t based on your number of users.

1. Staffing and Hiring

Managing the hiring process to expand your team consumes a lot of valuable time. You want to find the best person for the role, but without the right app to streamline and track all the moving parts that happen between job posting and final candidate selection, the inefficiencies eat up productivity you can’t afford to lose.

Knack’s no-code platform and intuitive app builder lets you simplify and optimize the entire recruitment pipeline. From managing job listings through applicant screening and candidate evaluation, you can automate reminders and notifications when new applications come in and as applicants move through the hiring process, buying back valuable time. Adding a consistent scoring and evaluation method ensures the right candidates move forward. Knack makes it easy to build and customize your own job listing app that gives you the tools to sort, rank and hire.

Hosting applications and evaluations in one location creates a smoother operational workflow. And applicants can view open jobs and submit applications directly from your website. Protected user data and role-based access permissions keep applicant data private and while allowing approved staff to log in to view, add and manage positions. It simplifies the project management associated with staffing and hiring.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing): 

• Greenhouse
• ClearCompany
• 100Hires
• Ceipal ATS
• Vincere

2. Employee Onboarding and Learning Management System (LMS) Support

Successful hiring is just the start when it comes to bringing a new employee up to speed and quickly contributing to business goals. From initial onboarding to professional development, you can build a Knack app that gets your team off to the right start and keeps them on track.

Knack drag-and-drop builder tools make it easy to customize a central learning repository. Create a library of training materials, including documents, videos, presentations, tutorials and even quizzes to make sure that onboarding is completed and understood. Add personalized checklists to make new hires feel welcomed and well supported from their first day. Automated workflows can assign tasks, track progress and trigger reminders. It generates much more efficiency than using legacy tools like Excel spreadsheets.

Role-based or personalized learning paths ensure that each employee gets information most relevant to successfully handling their job. And Knack analytics and reporting tracks progress, completion rates and performance to ensure effectiveness and identify areas for improvement.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing): 

• TalentLMS
• Ease
• Trainual
• BambooHR
• RUN Powered by ADP

3. Custom CRM

Building the right team is only part of the equation when running an SMB. Another critical element is having a custom Customer Relationship Management (CRM system) tailored to your unique needs, and Knack has you covered.

Use the robust builder tools to create an app that manages all aspects of customer interaction – optimizing each stage of the relationship from contact, to lead, to customer. Automation workflows trigger notifications and approvals as customers progress through the CRM pipeline. At-a-glance dashboard stats and reporting to gain customer insights and conversion rates.

Knack gives you the flexibility to design the app to the exact processes of your unique use case. Role-based access lets you store all lead and deal information in a centralized location while keeping customer and company data secure. You can use the same page for all sales reps while ensuring each team member sees only their own pipeline and deals.

And, as with all Knack apps, you can leverage the Knack API to seamlessly integrate your CRM with popular communication tools like email and text messaging.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing):

• HubSpot Sales Hub
• Nutshell
• Freshsales
• Pipeliner CRM
• Keap

4. Manage Purchase Orders

A Knack no-code app simplifies the process of managing purchase orders, and helps handle the steps in your procurement process to ensure accurate and timely tracking of company purchases, vendors and products. Create customized purchase order forms to fit your business’s unique needs and easily add or modify fields, terms and conditions to capture and communicate all necessary information.

A centralized purchase order app lets you efficiently track spending and approvals for orders, vendors and product data. Further streamline workflows by designating employees who can submit purchase orders to be approved by administrators. You can even automate purchase order generation and tracking based on inventory levels, sales forecasts or other critical triggers. With easy-to-define reporting and analytics, you can roll up weekly or monthly reports to monitor spending against budget.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing):

• Procurify
• Spendwise
• ProcurementExpress.com
• Planergy
• Odoo Purchase

5. Payroll Management

Whether you’ve got a few employees or a few dozen, keeping track of employee hours and schedules is critical. It’s especially challenging if you’ve got a mobile or distributed workforce.

Using Knack, you can build a user-friendly portal where employees and supervisors can manage timesheets and see only their own data or that of assigned employees. Each employee can log in to update and track their hours. And tracking down team members when hours are due is a thing of the past, you can automate reminders and trigger notifications when hours are submitted and approved. It takes the legwork and inefficiency out of the process.

When you’re ready to expand functionality, the app can be connected to your HR or payroll system to share real-time data and improve data-driven decision making.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing):

• Paychex Flex
• Rippling
• Paylocity
• RUN Powered by ADP
• QuickBooks Desktop Pro

6. Managing Invoices

Issuing invoices on schedule and tracking them through to payment is key to maintaining a healthy business cash flow and identifying issues before they become financial problems. Building an invoicing app with Knack, gives you the power to manage the process with the click of a button.

Create a portal where sales reps can quickly generate quotes, convert quotes to invoices and record when payment is received. Even automate email reminders to keep invoices moving through the process according to schedule. And, as with all Knack apps, your data is protected with encryption and role-based access capabilities, so each user only sees their relevant and approved information.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing):

• BILL
• Keap
• Stampli
• Paymode-X
• Xero

7. Asset Management

Effectively managing your IT and operations infrastructure to ensure optimal performance, security, and cost-effectiveness, keeps your business on track to meet strategic and customer experience goals.

Customize a Knack app to maintain a centralized, secure database of all your IT assets, including hardware, software, licenses and contracts. The single source of data lets you easily search, sort and filter assets to stay on top of warranty status, maintenance schedules, and subscription renewals. Set notifications for upcoming expiration dates or security policy checks to ensure that all your IT assets remain compliant and operational.

Knack’s robust reporting and analytics give you access to comprehensive insights to better optimize your IT asset management strategy.

Common point solutions you could consider skipping (or replacing):

• Vanta
• Drata
• Central
• ScalePad Lifecycle Manager
• Scrut Automation

Adopting a data-first strategy with Knack no-code apps is an essential step for SMB leaders who want to modernize and stay ahead of the competition. From streamlining processes, improving collaboration, and gaining data-driven insights to fuel success, it saves time and resources and enables more informed decisions.

Get Started with Knack today.